Retro Review: Lionheart (1990)

Lionheart aka A.W.O.L: Absent Without Leave/Leon

1990

Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Harrison Page, Deborah Renard, Brian Thompson, Michel Quissi, Billy Blanks 

Genre: Action Martial Arts

Worldwide Box Office Gross: over £24 million

Plot: An ex-French soldier begins participating in underground street fights to make money for his brother's family

'Bloodsport - Only Better'

Lionheart was Jean-Claude Van Damme's fourth major billing after Bloodsport, Cyborg and Kickboxer, with the story written by Van Damme himself and who plays Lyon Gautier (no relation to Jean-Paul Gautier). Gautier escapes from the Legion in a region in North Africa/France and initially heads off to America to avenge his brother's attack. When he arrives, he helps pay the sister-in-law's bills and support her youngest daughter. He is also on the run from two blokes of the French Foreign Legion who intend to get hold of Lyon. 

Released at the beginning of the 1990s decade, & just before Van Damme hit his peak with 1992's Universal Soldier and a year on Hard Target, Lionheart is directed by Sheldon Lettich. Lettich went on to direct the entertaining Double Impact, Only the Strong and the disaster which is The Hard Corps to name.  

Lionheart is more drama first, action second, & it plays out like a version of Kickboxer meets Rocky IV, but with a fish-out-of-water storyline built-in. It is a lot more earnest than Van Damme's latter flicks. It's light on action but heavy on the story and showcases more of his acting chops - which has been a persistent criticism of his film career. Van Damme humanizes Leon and he comes across as not as invincible, but down-to-earth and modest. He has a conscious. The story itself, whilst argued, is pretty rote, bears some weight and is relatively decent as it progresses.

One thing Lionheart and Van Damme didn't capitalize on was making 80s' action B-movie actor Brian Thompson fight Van Damme in a final battle.

Thompson's sharp-suited character was a sidekick who talked more and fought less and it was a missed opportunity to see them square off in a fight, whilst capitalist rich b**** Cynthia was the villainess (that character appears to be a take on Brigette Nielsen in Rocky IV). 

Also in this movie was Michel Quissi - the original Tung Po of the first Kickboxer film, and Quissi here as his character looks, well, your average guy in a suit as one of the French foreign legion guys. His brother also appears, and he fights Van Damme at the end fight.

Fight scenes look scrappier and rougher and are not the usual flashy shenanigans of Van Damme's '90s efforts such as Double Impact, Hard Target, and Universal Soldier. It is less reliant on kicks. Does this alone make it any more inferior? Absolutely not. However, in the context of the story, Leon takes part in these illegal underground street fights to make money for his sister-in-law, Helene, a single mother and daughter, Nicole, Leon's niece, and to give them a better quality of life. But he is not doing this alone, as he enlists a street hustler Joshua to act as his manager. 

Compared to his other films, including the direct- to- DVD cheapo efforts, this Van Damme film has a lot of heart, and it was a total surprise: I didn't think I would enjoy it, but I ended up feeling the opposite, thanks to the added characters besides Leon. Had it not been for them and for them elevating this film further, I would enjoy it less. The melodrama and family angle also pushes the story forward, and that resonates more than the fights, which act as a backdrop. If the fights are the backdrop to Lionheart, then the family angle is the backbone of this film. 

It's earnest, never over-the-top and engaging from beginning to end and the runtime is perfect. The performances are very good, and because of that, it makes the melodrama feel believable, with Van Damme showing some range in his performance. Having him play a character that he wrote that is not one-dimensional but who has a lot to say and having a character that has depth as a human being and person and not just someone who kicks the crap out of people, is interesting to see. 

Van Damme's Rocky, yet way, way superior to The Hard Corps, Lionheart is far more reserved than any of Jean-Claude Van Damme's other films. Many people will look down on this as being silly and too toned down for their liking and prefer a more macho Muscles from Brussels. 

For me, this is much better than it has any right to be. 

Final Verdict:

Bloodsport put Van Damme on the action map alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, but with Lionheart, whilst it isn't as recognised as Universal Soldier and Kickboxer, it is sincere and still works as a crowd-pleaser in the same vein as Rocky. As well as one that I might take over Kickboxer and Bloodsport when it comes to competitive fighting movies, as the fish-out-of-water setting gives it that edge.

Lionheart may not offer much, yet with a simple and effective story and an intriguing set of characters, it turns out to be one of JCVD's best. 

Overall: 

Retro Review: Pedicab Driver (1989) #Hongkongcinema

Pedicab Driver aka Kwan Lung Hei Fung

1989

Cast: Sammo Hung, Lau Kar-leung, Max Mok, Billy Chow, Fennie Yuen, Nina Li Chi

Genre: Martial Arts Comedy Drama

Hong Kong Box Office Gross: over $14 million

Plot: Two men find themselves in trouble when one falls in love with a bun maker and the other with a woman he doesn't know is a prostitute 

'A Hidden Gem Considered By Many, Yet I Wasn't Quite Sold On It'

Set in the 1930s, Pedicab Driver follows the trials and tribulations of a set of pedicab drivers in Macau: two of them have set their hearts on two attractive ladies, one a baker, and the other a prostitute. So, it is a part-romantic comedy, part drama and part action. 

This is not what I personally consider to be a favourite of mine from Sammo Hung's. Viewed purely as a film with a beginning, middle, and end, Pedicab Driver's journey from A to B isn't sloppy; instead, it is unequivocally brazen and veering all over the place, with no coherency. It was difficult to keep track of the plot throughout. Scenes oscillated between comical and silly at the start to serious and violent, to dreary melodrama which meanders on and is overemotional, in typical Hong Kong drama fashion. 

Additionally, the female characters are not written very well; here they are objectified and once, or twice, they get slapped around or are hit by a male character. That, and it doesn't look pretty. Again, in many of these 1980s Hong Kong action films, unless they are the main characters i.e., Cynthia Rothrock, or Michelle Yeoh oozing a strong onscreen presence, the women are generally portrayed as physically weak and overly emotive/emotional to the extent to which their sensitive nature is taken advantage of and mocked. I had to look away twice when one of them got kicked and punched by the bad guys (she ended up dying I think). 

It could have all gone straight to pot, but the film is just about saved by the performances and the impressive and over-the-top looking martial arts action sequences (one involving Sammo's character, Lo and Casino played by Lau Kar-Leung in a weapons duel), in the face of the melodramatics, the topsy-turvy tonal shifts and dull romance plots involving the two main characters, Max & Lo. Instead of counterpointing the heaviness of the drama with light relief in a smooth, nuanced way- something which can be detected in say, some of Robin Williams' earlier movie works that incorporate drama and comedy-, Pedicab Driver slaps the two styles together without any degree of thought as to how they could coincide with one another. 

Besides the fact that he was a right prick, I found John Shum's bad guy character so annoying. Though he fought well against Sammo, he came across as being so OTT and wicked, he was an annoying twerp throughout. Shum's characters are often silly, goofy, and playful with that snarky tone in his comedy films, - and so it was a surprise to see him play a person, whom I hated so much. 

Final Verdict:

I really wanted to love this one, given that it is highly regarded, but because of the tonal whiplash Sammo took with it, it just never quite worked out for me. It is a film that makes little to no sense and makes little to no attempt in presenting a coherent narrative for us to follow - it just so happens that it excels in the action - yet manages to be jarring. It is never a love-it or hate-it movie for me; it just falls in the middle. Had it followed on, right through from the first fight scene, by not losing sight of its direction when it came to the story and not confusing viewers by mish-mashing subplots, then Pedicab Driver would have turned out to be a terrific film. 

If you are not too bothered by the (muddled) story and are more interested in the action, that's fine.   

Overall:

Retro Review: Romeo Must Die (2000)

Romeo Must Die

2000

Cast: Jet Li, Aaliyah, Isiah Washington, Russell Wong, Delroy Lindo, DMX, DB Woodside, Henry O, Anthony Anderson 

Genre: Action

Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $91 million

Plot: An avenging cop seeks out his brother's killer and falls for the daughter of a businessman who is involved in a money-deal with his father

'More West Side Story Than Romeo & Juliet, Yet Still Worthy Viewing For Martial Arts Movie Junkies'

The classic tale of star-crossed lovers is given the mobster movie makeover spiked with racial politics and interwoven with martial arts. In Oakland, San Francisco, the streets are ruled by two rival gangs: the American gangs and Chinese triads. When the son of a Chinese boss is murdered, his brother, Han Sing -who is currently serving time in jail -, escapes and heads to the U.S to get hold of his killers. Along the way, Han runs into Trish, and the pair hit it off immediately. Unknownst to Han, Trish is the daughter of the gang leader, of whom Han believes are the men responsible for his brother's killing.  

Jet Li was first introduced to mainstream western audiences back in 1998 as the bad guy in Lethal Weapon IV playing opposite the leads, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover whereby he was a considerable onscreen presence in a weary franchise that lost its mojo. It was a matter of time until he was given his starring Western vehicle via a Hollywood movie: for Jackie Chan, it was Rush Hour and for Jet Li, it was Romeo Must Die. 

Producer of Lethal Weapon IV Joel Silver created a movie around Li combining kung fu with hip hop in a style that relied upon slo-mo action shots and wired stunts, whereas three different writers had a hand in penning the story; one of them wrote Virtuosity, the Denzel Washington & Russell Crowe flop. At this point in time, Jet Li was hot property in Hollywood as the IT guy for action movies & was seen as the successor to Jackie Chan. 

The film has enough plot to get me invested in the story and the characters and surprisingly, I was engaged from beginning to end; yet there are reservations when it comes to the casting albeit for Aaliyah, whereas Li could have been given more lines to work with, and elements of the story have not aged well today. One major issue this film has is despite being the leading character, the film via Silver and Bartkowiak, tend to rely on Li for the stunts and fight scenes, more so than his acting, and this held the film back a little. Alasforth, the movie should thank its lucky stars that it had Aaliyah and Delroy Lindo to do a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of dialogue and when it came to the emotive and dramatic scenes. The rest of the cast were all right, but none of them truly stood out.  

The late R&B singer, Aaliyah was cast in the pivotal role as Trish Day, the daughter of the gangster, who finds herself as a pawn to her father, and brother's business. Her performance was engaging, natural and convincing and I was drawn to her character. If her demise hadn't ended so soon and in such unfortunate circumstances, then there would have been no doubt that Aaliyah would have had a promising career as a movie actress. On the other hand, Aaliyah and Jet Li's chemistry feels more platonic than romantic. 

Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, this was far better than I'd anticipated that it would be and is the superior movie compared to Cradle to the Grave, narrative-wise. & Romeo Must Die is so much better than the (dire) Exit Wounds, even if the formula is derivative and predictable as we have seen in millions of other action films. The action here is somewhat average, but it was still watchable. 

Final Verdict:

Romeo Must Die has its critics no doubt, and yes, it is not that demanding, but from a subjective viewing experience, there was a lot more that I enjoyed here, in the sense that I was entertained and engrossed in the plot. Yet Romeo Must Die has a lot more in common with West Side Story than Romeo & Juliet. Overall, it's overly decent fare, which could have been a whole lot better. 

But still, I had a pleasant time with this one. 

Overall: 

Mini Retro Review: The Next Karate Kid (1994) #badmovies

The Next Karate Kid aka The Karate Kid Part IV

1994

Martial Arts Drama

It's not a horribly bad film per se, but the story just wasn't strong or compelling enough to get behind. After the previous three entries of the 1980s, The Next Karate Kid should have gone for a more dynamic and action-oriented film and with an equally good story to boot, but instead, it is lacklustre. A reboot of sorts, The Next Karate Kid waned the longer the film went on and with that, I lost all interest. In her second major movie offering, Hilary Swank tries her best, but under her acting efforts, she is swamped by a weak story that doesn't convince, nor take any bold risks, as well as limited martial arts scenes on display. Pat Morita plays Mr Miyagi and appears to be a less interesting character, whilst Michael Ironside turns in another typecast evil bad guy routine. Yes I see to it this is a B- or be it Z-movie martial arts film, but there appeared to be less action martial arts sequences in this instalment compared to the first 3 Karate Kid films. It's too predictable, cliched, and the lead character, Julie played by Hilary Swank is difficult to root for. Million Dollar Baby, the so-called boxing equivalent to The Karate Kid, and movie that helped bag Swank her second Oscar win, and which came out in 2004, appears to do everything and more than The Next Karate Kid, and do it better. This, on the other hand, exists as a cash-grab for the Karate Kid franchise. A gender-flip version of The Karate Kid sounds all right; just the execution of it should have been a whole lot better.  

Is It Worth Watching?

Unfortunately no

Overall: 

Retro Review: No Retreat, No Surrender (1986)

No Retreat, No Surrender aka Karate Tiger 
1986
Cast: Kurt McKinney, Jean-Claude Van Damme, J.W Fails, Ron Pohnel, Peter 'Sugarfoot' Cunningham
Genre: Martial Arts
U.S Box Office Gross: over $4.6 million

Plot: A karate kid wannabe seeks a master to bring his skills to the next level to avenge his father, and finds it unexpectedly in the spirit of Bruce Lee 

'Hong Kong Karate Kid'

Seeing these films in reverse order, 1986's No Retreat, No Surrender, is the first film in the series, & thus is the conclusion to my critique of the No Retreat, No Surrender trilogy. 

The first No Retreat, No Surrender is in the vein of the Karate Kid: released two years after the hugely successful martial arts drama starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita, this action- drama was directed and penned by Corey Yuen-Kwai and is noted for being his first English-based film. 

After some bad guys threaten the father and threatening him to fight in a tournament, he gets injured and they end up closing the gym. His son, Jason summons the spirit of Bruce Lee, his hero, who teaches him Jeet Kune Do and it isn't long until he puts those skills to use to save his dojo, as well as friends from Ivan and his crew of cretins. 

Michael Jackson and breakdancing, this is a mish-mash of Breakin' with Karate Kid, with a bit of Rocky, some of the scenes are cringeworthy and the story is not very well developed or written, thus lacking in any depth. The fight scenes, however, looked pretty good, as I'd expected quality-wise, from a Hong Kong-based martial arts movie. The one at the end was good between Ivan and Jason, but too brief. When there wasn't a fight or martial arts scene, it was so drone-worthy and dull. It was comically bad. 

Far from resembling the tone and edginess of the No Retreat No Surrender: Blood Brothers and Raging Thunder instalments, the original No Retreat, No Surrender was more of the Z-grade Karate Kid with teen characters, namely the evil fat kid who eats a lot, a white kid was a nasty looking plaited ponytail, the young love interest and the Black kid, RJ with the Michael Jackson Jheri curl, who Jason befriends, and so-called comic relief types. There is even a Bruce-Lee poser, or be it actor passing off as Lee as inspiration for Kurt McKinny's character, Jason, which I found to be a little odd. Van Damme, who at the time was in only his third-major English language film - appears in only two scenes as Ivan, Jason's nemesis, including the end fight. Like Arnold Schwarzenneger in 1984's The Terminator, Van Damme made his big-screen breakthrough (somewhat) as the villain. The Jason character whines a good deal in this film, and as the main protagonist, is bereft of charm and dare I say it, likeability, although Kurt McKinney is passable in the role. 

The difference between Hong Kong produced martial arts flicks and those produced in America, is that the former focuses more on the action and less so the drama and story; most of the time, this works as the quality and quantity of action precedes over the poor or lacklustre narrative, other times this doesn't: No Retreat, No Surrender falls into the latter category as it descends into teen drama fare. Yuen-Kwai was probably influenced and impressed by The Karate Kid and wanted to capitalise on its popularity and success; unfortunately, No Retreat, No Surrender barely manages to scrape the barrel. 

The original NRNS is somewhat of a blip on Corey Yuen-Kwai, who is usually competent; his previous film before No Retreat No Surrender, the Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock- led, Yes Madam! was terrific fun, whilst She Shoots Straight, that came out in 1990, also had some amazing fight scenes and choreography. A hit-&-miss filmmaker when it comes to his American output (DOA: Dead or Alive, The Transporter), as well as some of his Hong Kong efforts (So Close), this can be glaring to see. 

In the last scene or two, Corey Yuen hands over the reins to Van Damme; with that it concludes on a strong note, saving the best 'till last as he adds some needed fire-power and fireworks to a one-dimensional story carried by a one-dimensional lead protagonist. 

The follow-up movies, were not continuations of the Jason/RJ/Jean-Claude Van Damme Russian bad guy storyline, thankfully, as they invest in some grit but retaining its upbeat-ish tone, thanks to Loren Avedon as the lead. The third had more weight, and for me, is my favourite out of the No Retreat series. Who knows how the No Retreat movies might have turned out, had Van Damme and Kurt McKinney reprised their roles; if anything, their omissions might have been what the No Retreat movies needed. Particularly as unlike the Kickboxer offerings, these films got better with each release. 

Final Verdict:

The extra mark is for the final fight; I will say that fights-wise and in terms of action choreography, this is a whole another level to The Karate Kid with better scenes and martial arts; this is a B-movie Karate Kid and No Retreat, No Surrender is better than say, Gymkata. Yet the story and levels of melodrama can be cumbersome to endure and it isn't great either. Personally, as a Karate Kid-type martial arts film, the first No Retreat is all right at best, but as an action martial arts film it isn't as well-executed.

Some might say it is worth tuning into for Jean-Claude Van Damme, but even as the antagonist, he is underused. 

One can skip this movie and watch the sequels. 

Overall: 

Mini Retro Review: The King of the Kickboxers II: Fighting Spirit (1992) #badmovies

The King of the Kickboxers II: Fighting Spirit
1992
Martial Arts Action

So this was supposed to be the sequel to King of the Kickboxers? Well, Fighting Spirit was, I have to admit, woeful; it was also released under the acronym of American Shaolin, and much like the No Retreat movies, is unrelated to the previous films. The score is just horrible to endure, just a jumbled up mess that is enough to make your ears bleed, terrible dubbing. As a sequel, Fighting Spirit is devoid of any over the top quality martial arts fight scenes that the original had, it does a complete 180, it wasn't easy sitting through this movie. It is so shoddy and painful that even the man himself, Loren Avedon has disowned this offering that he advised fans to avoid watching Fighting Spirit. He doesn't have many fight scenes here, and but for the last 10 mins (when he does a flying split kick), he is barely in it as often as I'd hoped he would be. The fight scenes consist of people kicking each other when they are on the floor. Kick of the Kickboxers was so enjoyable that to see it getting crapped on by this poor excuse of a follow-up it does that film a huge disservice. Hate to admit it, but it was far from being up there with The King of the Kickboxers. After enjoying the first film, immensely, this one was an utter disappointment. If, however, you know what you are in for, you might like this one more than me. 

Is It Worth Watching?

Not really, stick with the first film only 

Overall: 

Retro Review: The King of the Kickboxers (1990)

The King of the Kickboxers
1990
Cast: Loren Avedon, Billy Blanks, Keith Cooke, Sherrie Rose, Richard Jaeckel, William Long Jr., David Michael Sterling
Genre: Martial Arts

Plot:  A cop goes undercover in Thailand to avenge his brother's death

'Ready... Fight!!'

In The King of the Kickboxers, this is the fourth Loren Avedon film that I have checked out in recent weeks, following on from No Retreat, No Surrender 2 and 3, as well as The Silent Force; released theatrically in the same year as No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers, this became the second so-called major kickboxing-based film, after 1989's Kickboxer, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, but also it was heralded as Avedon's major solo billing. It was billed as a third-rate Kickboxer and acts as a follow-up of sorts to No Retreat, No Surrender 2 & 3, and yet despite its low-key turn and miscellany, in a similar vein to Kickboxer, The King of the Kickboxers still lives up to its title, and as a martial arts action film, it's very impressive.   

Loren is Jake Donohue: an undercover cop from New York, who infiltrates a drug cartel ring wearing a leather jacket, sunglasses and a bandana; as a kid, he witnessed his brother being murdered by a guy in Khan (Billy Blanks). Fast forward several years later, Jake is assigned to a case and one that leads to Khan. With that, Jake has to undergo training, a la Kickboxer and Karate Kid, in Thailand and with the help of an old master, to avenge his brother's death, unknowing that he is being used by filmmakers as a pawn for a (not so) big-budget action movie. 

Some intentional bad acting on the part of Loren Avedon, but I can forgive him for that, as he is entertaining to watch in his performance, in addition to being a great fighter, as well as from the cast in general. Besides, the acting isn't all that bad, and it is also the least of my worries; an 8th-degree Hapkido Black belt, Avedon's kicking skills are quite something to see, as is his pace, agility and athleticism to bounce off the walls and unleash several flying kicks & punches. I loved his energy, his enthusiasm & charisma was good to see and it was interesting to witness this cocky cop in Jake mellow down a little bit and show more of his caring side as the film wore on, whilst still kicking ass. King of the Kickboxers also features Keith Cooke of China O'Brien as Jake's mentor and Billy Blanks as the main antagonist; given his size and muscular stature, he definitely looked like an intimidating presence onscreen. Sherrie Rose, who played Jake's girlfriend, Molly was okay. Yet according to an interview, Loren Avedon said he did not get on well with her, claiming that she was acting like a prima donna; he told her to ''shut up'' and Rose badmouthed him afterwards. Avedon claimed word got around, and sadly, he was effectively 'blackballed' from Hollywood.

Having seen several recent interviews with Loren Avedon on Youtube, particularly on Scott Adkins' The Art of Action feature on his Youtube channel, the elder Avedon comes across as a simple, easy-going guy who shows his passion for and expertise in Martial arts, and more so his specialist area in Hapkido. 

Kickboxer is clearly an American film and The King of the Kickboxers has a noticeable Hong Kong presence and flavour, with fight choreographer who did IP Man, Tony Leung, applying his trade here and its element of light-hearted silliness, which can be found in many 1980s and early 1990s Hong Kong martial arts films starring Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung to name permeates throughout in its production values. 

According to the IMDB trivia page for this film, in the UK, the home video version was cut down by 46 seconds by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) with several edits being made: these include removing shots of a naked woman's corpse and a man impaled by a hook. During and for its release on DVD in 2004, these cuts were restored. 

Quite honestly, this film should have led to better things for Loren Avedon as an action movie star later on in his career, you can't and will never see a better performance from him elsewhere but here, in The King of The Kickboxers; this might have been No Retreat No Surrender 4 or a spin-off to #3 with Loren's character being Will, instead of Jake, taking its strengths and expanding upon them for this so-called instalment. The final fight encounter between Avedon's Jake and Blanks' Khan that takes place in a massive cage has to be seen to be believed, verging on being so brutal with the pair trading blows and trying to outdo each other in the fight stakes. Martial arts-wise, we see a lot more of Loren Avedon here than in No Retreat No Surrender 2 and 3, and whereas the revenge plot is generic, the melodrama and overacting hilarious, the action is still the highlight of this movie & due to his character being the lead, he takes full advantage of this & runs away with it. I wanted to see a bit more of Avedon in terms of fighting, and we got it here in spades, thanklessly. 

Final Verdict: 

A cult classic, especially in terms of martial arts movies, it is also Loren Avedon at his absolute best, as he gives it everything; he is another one of those action movie actors of whom deserved to have much more successful career and would have been another staple in the martial arts movie scene that it deserves. 

When it comes to American martial arts films, The King of the Kickboxers is up there with Best of the Best, Bloodsport notably as a B-movie, and it more than holds its own. If he hadn't been blackballed and his career hadn't been written off so soon because of it, we could have seen a lot more of Loren Avedon's career as a fledgeling martial arts action star during the 1990s who could cut it alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Segal. He might be lower tier than say Jeff Speakman, Jeff Wincott, Dolph Lundgren, yet and when given an okay script, we see the very best of Loren Avedon unleashed. Whilst his characters might not have always been memorable, nor garnered acclaim, his athleticism, devotion and his martial arts skills and flexibility, in general, could never be doubted, and this movie is no exception. 

Rip-off of Kickboxer or not, it didn't matter still, because The King of the Kickboxers still made for highly entertaining and satisfying viewing that martial arts film fanatics cannot go amiss. 

Overall:

Retro Review: No Retreat, No Surrender 2: Raging Thunder (1987)

No Retreat, No Surrender 2: Raging Thunder 
1987
Cast: Loren Avedon, Mattias Hues, Max Thayer, Cynthia Rothrock, Hwang Jang-Lee

Genre: Action Martial Arts

Plot: A martial artist, his arms merchant buddy and their pilot stage a rescue in Indochina

'War Movie First, Martial Arts Actioner Second'

Part 2 bears no resemblance to the events of the previous No Retreat, No Surrender as none of the characters from the first film return. The Thai-based production plot follows a character named Scott who arrives in Southeast Asia and sees that his girlfriend gets kidnapped, just as they were about to spend the night together in a swanky hotel; with the help of his pal, Mac, female Terry, the trio head off to Cambodia and to battle it out with some Russian bad guys.

No Retreat, No Surrender 2: Raging Thunder was originally intended to be the direct sequel to 1986's No Retreat No Surrender, but Jean-Claude Van Damme pulled out feeling that the vehicle would not have propelled him onto latter success, with costar, Kurt McKinney following suit afterwards. Because of that, the story and characters were changed with Loren Avedon and Mattias Hues drafted in as replacements, with the hulking German Hues playing a Russian; Raging Thunder also acts as Avedon's main billing on a movie.

Unlike the Kickboxer series of films, the No Retreat, No Surrender streak commences with an okay film, bland second film and a very good third movie with each instalment, action-wise; beginning with the Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle, the combined films are more competent, enjoyable in contrast to the former. The acting as ever is corny in places, the story is far less entertaining and probably the biggest sin Raging Thunder commits is to have one of the biggest female martial arts movie stars Cynthia Rothrock killed off towards the end. Yes, Cynthia fights, but not as often as one expects, which is disappointing.

No Retreat, No Surrender 2 is 90% war movie, 10% martial arts actioner and with a run time of almost 1hr 45 mins, the story is so padded and yet most of it is drone-worthy stuff. The film would have been better if it had ditched the war setting, stale story and opted for a more contemporary straight forward action martial arts approach.

Final Verdict:

Three years on, the third movie did everything right and better than this second instalment, and whilst Avedon can be decent as an actor with an okay script, fights-wise, he shows how agile and skilful he is, yet it is unfortunate that the action comes in very short bursts.

The fight between Avedon (with the aid of a stunt double) and Mattias Hue was the highlight, but besides that, No Retreat, No Surrender 1 and 2 are easily skippable and with that, I'd stick with the third outing.

Overall: 

Retro Review: No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990)

No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers aka American Kickboxing
1990
Cast: Loren Avedon, Keith Vitali, Joseph Campanella, Wanda Acuna, Rion Hunter
Genre: Action Martial Arts

Plot: Rival sons of a slain C.I.A agent seek martial arts revenge on an international terrorist

'A Fun Kick-Ass Romp'

Made in Hong Kong, this low-budget martial arts action affair is a tasty treat.

When their ex- CIA agent father is brutally murdered in the hands of terrorists led by the peroxide Franco whose son was killed by the dad, two squabbling brothers attempt to put their differences aside to avenge his death. Casey Alexander is a CIA operative, with a younger sibling, Will who is a karate instructor and two couldn't be any more different from one another, personalities-wise.

The third film in the franchise, this one is without Hong Kong action choreographer and filmmaker Corey Yuen's involvement: he of whom helmed other martial arts gems in Yes Madam! starring Cynthia Rothrock and Michelle Yeoh and 1990's She Shoots Straight . The action in Blood Brothers is swift, due to the quick editing, and is reminiscent of many 1980s and early 1990s Hong Kong martial arts films, and impressive with some brilliant fight scenes & stuntwork as both Avedon and Vitali (& their stunt doubles) show off their agility and fight choreography. The script is a little corny in places and there is some overacting as well, yet No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers knows how to entertain in the action stakes and when it does so, it's worth seeing alone especially.

Some sexist language such as ''b****'' is uttered a few times, which was unpleasant, but besides that, this was a really good watch. Blood Brothers opts for a different approach in contrast to the previous films with the sibling rivalry theme that treads similar waters to that of another action martial arts flick, Double Impact starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, who plays the dual roles of twin brothers. The villain reminds me of the one played by Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner . Loren Avedon ( King of the Kickboxers) returns from the last film with Keith Vitali (Revenge of the Ninja, Wheels on Meals) playing a smug-assed cop with a penchant for flashy suits, who also beds attractive women and the two exhibit an impressive array of kicks, punches, spins, flips, as well as shooting. The relentless third and final act as the brothers do battle with Rion Hunter is a corker. 

It is, however, problematic when it comes to the portrayal of the women in this film, as they are presented as attractive types parading alongside a swimming pool in a bikini as such and is also a tad homophobic as illustrated in one scene with the use of terms 'f**got' and 'queer'. 

The line uttered by Rion, 'can you smell it? Not unlike roast pork' earns a chuckle, however. 

When it comes to B-movie action flicks, NRNS3: BB is very, very good. I'm reviewing and watching these in reverse order, and alas, I enjoyed this instalment. There is not a single scene where I switched off and the runtime at under 1 hour, 40 mins is ideal. 

It has that high-tempo, high octane Hong Kong martial arts-feel, which is a plus for me, and it shows through the production, as well edited as it looks, and the entertaining quality of the martial arts scenes. It looks very early '90s and yes, the acting may not be high-class, but you don't watch these films for the acting but for the action and fight sequences. With that, Blood Brothers is a certifiable action film worth tracking down for fans of the genre, in particular martial arts movies. 

Final Verdict :

Far better than many American-based martial arts films of this type, but primarily because the action fight choreography is equal to many Hong Kong equivalents and given it is a Hong Kong martial arts movie shot and filmed in the U.S., No Retreat No Surrender 3 is a fun, solid, action-packed romp that doubles up as a guilty pleasure fest and showing that U.S, or be it Western martial arts films, with some effort, can stand alongside their higher tier Chinese and Hong Kong counterparts. 


Overall: